Coin-controlled passage-closing device.



No. 663,985. Patented Dec. l8, I900.

S. E. STIMSON. COIN CONTROLLED PASSAGE CLOSING DEVICE.

(Application'filed Dec. 1 6, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shoot l.

WLTNESSES: w INVENTOR I ATTORNEY.

1H: nonms PETERS co, Pnmuuwu. WASHINGTON. a. c.

i" m. 663,985. Patented Dec. |a,- I900.

S. E. STIMSON. I

COIN-CONTROLLED PASSAGE CLOSING DEVICE.

I (Application filed Dec. 16, 1899.)

( No Modgl.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

mlllllllln INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

m: uoims PETERS co, PNOYO-LITNO- wasumcmu. n c.

NITED TATES" SAMUEL E. STIMSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COIN-CONTROLLED PASSAGE-CLOSING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 663,985, dated December 18, 1900.

Application filed December 16, 1899. Serial No. 740,513- (No modelJ To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL E. STIMSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanism for Lockin g and Controlling the Movements of Passage-Way- Closing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is designed for use in connection with any of the various forms of device that are employed to close passage-ways while yet permitting of the passing of persons through the latter in one or the other direction when desired, whether constructed in the form of doors, gates, or turnstiles; and it is in connection with that form of this last-mentioned device which is shown and described in my Patent No. 640,827, granted January 9, 1900, that I have illustrated my invention as applied, although it is to be understood that it is not restricted thereto.

When used in connection with a passageway-closing device, my invention may be located at any convenient position with respect thereto, its exact location being in no sense essential so long as it cooperates with the passage-way-closing device in the accomplishment of the desired results, the object of the invention being more particularly to provide simple and convenient means whereby not only the locking of a passageway-closing device in a position extending across the passage-way may be effected in a positive manner and the unlocking of the same permitted when it is desired to swing the device therefrom by the deposition of a coin or other token in a suitable slot or receptacle provided to receive it, but the assorting of the coins or tokens thus deposited, when of different denominations or forms, may be accomplished.

To these ends the invention consists, first, in the employment, in connection with a passageway-closing device,of locking devices for positively locking it in a position when extending across the passage-way with mechanism that is adapted to be operated upon by a coin or other token for unlocking such closing device when required to permit of its Withdrawal from across the same; second, in the employment, in connection with the passageway-closing device and the mechanism for locking the same in a position extending across the passage-way, of a series of levers operated by coins or tokens, a series of slots or receptacles in which such coins or tokens may be severally deposited, and a series of receptacles for receiving the respective coins or tokens after they have operated upon the levers to effect the unlocking of the closing .device, and, third, in various other constructions and combinations of parts, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of apassage-way-closing device with my invention applied in connection therewith; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof with the case or housings for the stopping, controlling, and registering mechanis n1,a portion of the supporting shaft or axis of the passageway-closing device, and the stand for supporting such shaft or axis shown in longitudinal vertical section; Fig. 3, a transverse sectional elevation of the passageway-closing device with the mechanism constituting my invention and the opposite Wall of the passage-way taken in the line :xzmof Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a plan of the stop-wheel for the passageway closing device, a portion of the gear through which it is connected with the shaft or axis of such closing device, and the guard or loaffle lever for controlling the engagement of the locking-bar with the teeth of the locking-wheel detached; Fig. 5, a detail side and end elevation of the coin or token operated andintermediate levers,respectively,through which the operation of the guard or baffle lever is effected, with a portion of the casing or housing shown in section, and the hangers, through which the first-mentioned levers are supported therefrom, displayed in front elevation; Fig. 6, an isometric projection of the locking-bar, by means of which the lockingvwheel and through it the passage-way-closing device is positively locked in the required position; Fig. 7, a plan of the coin or token operated levers, by means of which the raising of the locking-bar from the locking-wheel and the unlocking of the latter are effected; Fig. 8, a transverse section taken in the plane yy of Fig. 2 looking downward and showing the ratchet and pawl and the pulley and flexible connection through which the rotation of the passageway-closing device may be effected by the foot of the operator through the pedal shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 9, a transverse sectional elevation of the slots or channel-ways through which the coins or other tokens are passed into the machine to effect the unlocking of the passageway-closing device and the receptacles for receiving them after having efiected such unlocking operation.

In all the figures like letters of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates one of the walls of a passageway, with which cooperates a closing device that is adapted to be extended across the way to obstruct the same and be wholly or partially swung therefrom when desired to allow of the passage of persons along the way or otherwise. This closing device may be constructed in various forms-as, for instance, in that of a door, a gate, a folding blind, or other approved structure. As here shown, however, it is constructed in the form of a turnstile, which is preferably, though not necessarily, located near the wall of the passageway opposite the wall A and consists of a supporting shaft or axis B, which is journaled in the casing or housing 0 and is provided with a series of radially-disposed arms 61 (1, formed by the angular bars D, that are jointed therein at right angles to each other with a hollow cylinder or sleeve E surrounding it, which, fixedly secured to the upper side of the casing or housing 0 by bolts or otherwise, is provided at its upper end with a cam-surface e for extending and withdrawing the arms when the turnstile is rotated, all as is common to the construction shown in the application for Letters Patent aforesaid and requires no further description herein.

For locking the closing device in a position to obstruct the passage-way various means may be employed. I prefer, however, to make use of the wheel F, which is provided in its upper surface, near the periphery thereof, with a series of notches f, that receive and cooperate with the lower end of a locking-bar G, which in turn is fitted to slide in a suitable hearing or socket g, supported from the under side of the top of the casing or housing 0 by bracket-arms g or otherwise, as preferred.

In some instances I find it convenient to,

locate the locking-wheel F on the shaft or axis of the closing device, in which cases it will be fixedly secured thereto. In my preferred form of construction, however, it is located upon a shaft H, which is journaled in the cats ing or housing 0 and is connected with the shaft or axis B through the medium of gears h and h, the diameter of the former of which in the example of the invention shown is onefourth of that of the latter, whereby one complete rotation of the smaller of the two gears will rotate the larger through one-quarter of its circumference or through an angle of ninety degrees. By this arrangement of parts and proportioning of the gears, as will be seen, not only is the holding of the closing device when in a locked position firmly accomplished, but whatever strain there may be communicated to the locking-bar therefrom is reduced to the minimum.

The means made use of by me, through which the unlocking of the closing device may be effected when it is desired to withdraw the same from across the passage-way, is of the coin or token operated class and may be modified in various ways. By the terms coin or token used herein it is meant to include not only coins properly so called, but any other body that will be of the proper weight,

size, or shape to effect the desired unlocking operation when introduced into the machine, and the form of mechanism upon which it is designed to operate selected by me for the exemplification of my invention comprises a lever I, which, fulcrumed at the appropriate point along its length in a suitable stand i, secured to the casing or housing G, is connected at one of its ends with the upper end of the locking-bar G through an orifice formed therein, with its opposite end extended into and wholly or partially across a slot or channel-way it, formed in a casing K, that extends downward through the top of the housing 0 and depends from the under side thereof, as shown. As thus arranged, theintroduction of a coin or token into the channel-way will cause the depression of the end of the lever I that extends into the latter by its contact therewith, with the consequent elevation of the other end of the same and through it the raising of the locking-bar G from engagement with the notches f in the wheel F,thereby unlocking the closing device and permitting of the movement of the same aboutits axis, as desired. The coin or token having thus tilted the lover I upon its fulcrum will pass down the channel-way 7c and be deposited in an appropriate receptacle 70 arranged to receive it, when the lever, relieved from the action of the same, will, with the locking-bar, under the action of gravity of the latter or otherwise return to its normal position, again locking the closingdevice in a position across the passage-way, and be ready for the next operation, and so on.

In the construction of the wheel F, Isometimes find it convenient to provide it with only such notches f as are actually necessary to lock the closing device in the various positions it will occupy when obstructing the passage-way, and in such cases these notches will be so located therein as to bring one or the other of them directly beneath the locking-bar G as the successive arms or barriers of the device are brought across the passageway. At other times I find it convenient to provide this Wheel with a continuous series of such notches, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and this is the construction I prefer in practice, as thereby the locking of the closing device is insured even when the obstructing portion of the closing device is by accident or otherwise carried slightly beyond a line extending from its axis perpendicularly across the passage-way. With this construction, however, the engagement of the lockingbar G with the notchesf would in most cases result before the closing device in its movement had arrived in position to obstruct the passage-way if provision was not made to prevent such occurrence, as the coin or token introduced in the slot or channel-way it passes downward quickly therethrough into the receptacle and, after having tilted the lever I on its fulcrum by contact therewith and raised the locking-bar G from the notches f, allows these parts to rapidly return in the opposite direction toward their normal positions. In order, therefore, to prevent the engagement of the locking-bar with the notches in the wheel F during this return movement before the closing device has arrived at the required posit-ion to obstruct the passage-Way, various forms of mechanism may be employed. I prefer, however, to make use of a guard or baffle lever L, which, fulcru med near its middle point in a suitable hanger Z, that is secured to the casing or housing 0, is arranged with its flattened free end in close relationship to the locking-bar G,whereby to be passed under the lower end of the same when the bar is raised and prevent it from engaging with the notchesfin the wheel F while such end is there disposed. For swingingthisguard or baffle lever on its fulcrum to carry its flattened free end beneath the locking-bar G when required, I preferably, though not necessarily, avail of a lever m, which, fulcrumed at the proper point along its length in a suitable stand m that is secured to the casingor housing 0, is jointed at its lower end with the rear end of such guard or baffle lever and is provided at or near its upper end with an inclined surface m that is adapted to bear.

against the side of the lever I, as shown. By this arrangement, as will be seen, the arm of the lever I that extends into the channel-way it as it is depressed by the action of the coin or token introduced into the latter will, as its other arm raises the locking-bar G from the notches f in the wheel F, move down along this inclined surface m thereby swinging the lever m over on its fulcrum and through its connection with the guard or baflie lever L cause the passage of the flattened free end of the last-mentioned lever beneath the locking-bar G, in which positions the locking-bar and the levers L and m will remain until the flattened free end of the lever L is removed from beneath the locking-bar, when the parts will return to their initial positions ready for the next operation, and so on. The locking-bar G being thus raised from the notches f and held from engagement therewith by the interposed flattened end of the guard or baffle lever L, the movement of the closing device around its axis to successively open and close the passage-way is permitted, and in order to insure of its being arrested in its movement and yieldingly held in position to obstruct the passage-way after each withdrawal therefrom I make use of the cam M, which, preferably secured to the axis of the closing device and constructed with as many projections and depressions on and in its periphery as there are arms or barriers carried by the closing device, cooperates with the roller m that is journaled in the forked end of a rod in, which, fitted to slide in a socket formed in a stand m secured to the casin or housing 0, is held pressed outward with the roller m against the cam M by springpressure, as shown. By thus arranging the depressions in the cam in proper position with respect to the arms or barriers of the closing device and the roller m the movement of such device to a position to obstruct the passageway will be normally effected whenever it has been wholly or partially withdrawn therefrom, and to the end that the closing device may be automatically locked in this position when returned thereto I provide the upper side of the gear h with a number of upwardly-- projecting studs 71 which are so disposed with respect to the arms or barriers of the closing device and an extension Z on the flattened free end of the guard or baffle lever L that when such closing device in its movement reaches a position to obstruct the passage-way, or nearly so, one of these studs h will engage with the extension Z, carrying the free end of the lever L from under the locking-bar G and allowing such bar to engage with one of the notches f in the wheel F, thereby locking the closing device and returning the parts to their normal positions ready for the next operation.

In some locations where the coins or tokens of but one denomination or character will be employed only a single slot or channel-way k, with a single cooperating receptacle I0 lever I, and lever m, will berequired. In other 10- cations where coins or tokens of different denominations or characters are employed, on the other hand, it will be found convenient to employ a separate channel-way 70 it 10 ,850., for each, with a separate cooperating receptacle k k is, &c., a separate cooperating lever I 1'1 &c., and a separate cooperating lever m m m 850., as thereby the different denominations orcharacters of coins ortokens may be kept separate and distinct from one another to denote different objects or purposes, and in practice I contemplate so employing them. While thus a plurality of levers I I 1 &c., are employed when a plurality of channel-ways is k 70 &c., are made use of, the said levers are all preferably connected with the single locking-bar G, and the same is true with the levers m m m due, when a plurality is employed, such levers being severally connected at their lower ends with the single guard or baffle lever L, as shown.

With the parts above described I sometimes find it convenient to employa registering device N to register the number of times the closing device has been withdrawn from across the passage-way to permit of the passing of a person therethrough or otherwise. This registering device may be of any of the well-known or approved forms and located at any convenient point with respect to the closing device. In the drawings, however, I have shown it as located within the casing or housing 0, and this is the location I prefer. When thus located, I preferably operate it from the shaft H through the intervention of the bevelgears 'n and n and the shaft 91 which shaft is supported in a suitable stand a, secured to the floor of the casing or housing 0 or other convenient part, as preferred. As thus constructed and arranged the locking and controlling mechanism for the closing device may be located in any convenient or desired relationship with respect to the passage-way. I prefer, however, to so locate the same that the outer side of the casing or housing 0 may form one wall of the passage-way, as the part A forms the other wall thereof.

With the parts constructed and arranged as above described the unlocking of the closing device by the deposition of a coin or token and the withdrawal of the same from across the passage-way may be effected by the person who passes along the latter. It is preferred, however, to employa second person therefor, who may be either the ticket-seller, transfer agent, or other person specially employed for the purpose, who, in addition to depositing the coin or token in the appropriate slot or channel-way, and thereby unlocking the closing device, may also operate such closing device to withdraw it from and extend it across the passage-way, and for this purpose either a crank N or a pedal 0 may be adopted. \Vhen a crank is availed of for efiecting the result, I preferably apply it to the upper end of the shaft H. On the other hand, when a pedal is employed I find it convenient to construct it in the form of a bell-crank, which is preferably pivoted to the side of the casing or housing 0 and connected with the shaft or axis B through the intervention of a wheel 0, a ratchet 0, pawl 0 a cord or strap 0 and a spring 0 as shown, of which devices the wheel is loose upon the shaft or axis and the ratchet fast thereon.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I produce a simple and convenient means for locking and controlling the movements of a passage-way-closing device which is adapted for use in cars, steamboat-s, railway-stations, theaters, and other similar locations, either to control the entrance thereto or the exit therefrom.

Although in the above I have described certain of the ways in which myinvention is or may be carried into effect, I wish it dis tinctly understood that I do not limit myself thereto, as it is obvious that the same may be modified in various other ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. The combination with a passage-wayclosing device adapted to be extended across such passage-way and withdrawn therefrom, of devices for positively locking it in its extended position, devices operable by the deposition of a coin or token to actuate said locking devices and release the said closing device, and means to hold said locking devices in inoperative position during the movement of the closing device from and across the passage-way.

2. The combination with a passage-wayclosing device adapted to be extended across such passage-way and withdrawn therefrom, of devices for locking said closing device in extended position, a lever adapted to be moved by the deposition of acoin or token to actuate said locking devices and release said closing device, and means actuated by said coin-operated lever to hold said locking means in inoperative position during the movement of the closing device from and across the passage-way.

3. The combination with a passage-wayclosing device adapted to be extended across such passage-way and withdrawn therefrom, of devices for positively locking said closing device in its extended position, a coin or token operated lever to actuate said locking devices and release said closing device, and a second lever operated by said coin-operated lever to hold said locking devicesin inoperative position during the movement of the closing device from and across the passage-way.

4. The combination with a passage-wayclosing device, adapted to be extended across such passage-way and withdrawn therefrom, of devices for positively locking said closing device in its extended position, a coin or token operated lever to actuate said locking devices and release said closing device, a second lever operated by said coin-operated lever to hold said locking devices in inoperative position during the movement of such closing device from and across such passageway, and means for automatically throwing said second lever to allow the locking devices to resume their operative position.

5. The combination, with a passage-wayclosing device, and a wheel connected therewith and provided with notches, of a lockingbar adapted to engage with such notches to positively lock the closing device in a predetermined position, a lever adapted to be operated by a coin or token for disengaging the locking-bar from such notches, a guard or baffle lever, and a third lever for forcing the free end of this guard or bafiie lever beneath the locking-bar when raised operated by the tilting of the first-mentioned lever, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a passage-wayclosing device, and devices for positivelylocking it in a predetermined position, of a plurality of channel-ways for the reception of coins or tokens, and mechanism through which the unlocking of the closing device may be effected by the introduction of a coin or token in any one of the channel-ways, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a passage-wayclosing device, a wheel connected therewith and provided with a series of notches, and a locking bar adapted to engage with such notches, of a plurality of slots or channel-ways that are each adapted to receive a coin or token, and a lever for cooperatin g with each of these slots or channel-ways and connected with the locking-bar, whereby the disengagement of the locking-bar from the notches in said wheel and the consequent unlocking of the closing device is effected by the introduction of a coin or token in any one of the slots or channel-ways, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with a passage-wayclosing device, a wheel connected therewith and provided with a series of notches, and a locking bar adapted to engage with such notches, of a plurality of slots or channel-ways that are each adapted to receive a coin or token of a different character, a lever for cooperating with each of these slots or channelways and connected with the locking-bar, whereby the disengagement of the lockingbar from the notches in said wheel and the consequent unlocking of the closing device is effected by the introduction of an appropriate coin or token in any one of the slots 0r channel-ways, and areceptacle for each of such slots or channel-Ways arranged in proper relation to receive the coin or token passed down ward through the same, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with a wheel provided with notches in its upper side, a locking-bar adapted to engage with such notches, and a guard or baffle lever, of a plurality of slots or channel-ways that are each adapted to receive a coin or token of a different character, a lever cooperating with each of these slots or channelways and connected with the locking-bar, whereby the disengagement of such locking bar from the notches of said wheel may be effected by the introduction of an appropriate coin or token in any one of the slots or channel-ways, and intermediate levers operated by the last-mentioned levers when tilted and connected with the guard or baffle lever to operate the same and force its free end beneath the locking-bar when raised, substantially as described.

10. The combination with a passage-wayclosing device, of mechanism for positively locking said closing device in position to obstruct such passage-way devices operable by the deposition of a-coin or token to actuate said locking mechanism and release the closing device,automatically-operated devices for holding said locking mechanism in inoperative position during the movement of the closing device from and across the passage-way, and means for Withdrawing said closing device from across the passage-way during the inoperative condition of said locking mechanism.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 14th day of December, 1899.

SAMUEL E. STIMSON.

Witnesses:

WM. H. APPLETON, R. F. SWEENY. 

